Sweet Desolation
by JouVal-Yaoi-Fanatik
Summary: SaiNaru. There is unease among team 7. They are closer than ever to their goal, but will they fall apart before they reach it?
1. Do You?

D I S C L A I M E R  
I, JouVal, DO NOT own Naruto Shippuuden, or any of the characters! I only write for my own enjoyment.

Sai x Naruto Shonen-ai

Sorry if anyone seems OOC.  
The idea to write this spontaneously hit me this morning.

C h a p t e r 1 : Do You?

Warm wind gently caressed golden locks of hair. A smile twitched on the face of the sun child and his pink haired companion as they enjoyed the patch of warmth. A third person watched passively from the shadows, he didn't want to dampen their mood, as they didn't get to relax often.

The other boy relaxed slightly, and leaned back against the tall oak he was currently sitting under. He blinked, looking away from the scene before him. Although his eyes didn't stray far before they were drawn back to his comrades, or rather, one of them.

The blond, Naruto, never ceased to amaze him. Every time he thought he had figured him out, he was proven wrong. There was always something new to learn about the boy. 'He is so…' The raven haired, dark eyed teen paused in speculation. What was Naruto, anyways? Confusing? Oh, yes, definitely. He was also irrational. Not that it was entirely a bad thing of course; he somehow used the trait to his advantage. There was something else, though… what was it?

He shifted slightly when he became aware of a pair of eyes boring into his skull. He glanced slightly to the blonde's right to meet a pair of spring-green eyes. Sakura, the medic ninja on their team, stared back at him with a calculating look on her face.

The boy blinked, 'how long has she been staring?' he wondered. He offered her what he hoped would be a reassuring smile. She frowned slightly, blinked, and turned away. He dropped his fake smile. Her reaction bothered him a little. Why had the kunoichi been looking at him that way? He sighed and dismissed the thought.

His coal-black eyes darted to the ground in front of him. Blades of grass. How uninteresting, unlike… 

He looked up, stealing a glance at his normally chaotic teammate. Sakura was whispering to the golden haired boy. 'What is she saying?' He thought frantically. Eyes widened when they met with endless blue, a blue deeper than the sky, or even the ocean. 

Naruto's frame was rigid as he stared at the dark haired ANBU. He was obviously startled by the pink haired girl's words. The raven haired boy swallowed, trying to calm his nerves. 

Sakura gave him a soft smile. 

"Sai, you like him, don't you?" 

His hands twitched, but he managed to keep his face composed. He forced an innocent-looking smile.

"Hm? Why would you say a thing like that?"

Despite his calm exterior, Sai felt conflicted. Did he? No, he didn't _like_ Naruto. He just…couldn't. But why was it so hard to say?

Sakura blinked. Her smile fell, but she was not deterred. 

"You could have just said no," She explained bluntly.

Sai's mouth opened, then closed. He clenched his fist.

"We should probably find Yamato-taisho. It's about time to move on," He stated. 

The boy rose and turned away from his team, walking in the direction of the designated meeting point.

Sakura stood and took an uneasy step forward. She called out to him.

"Sai!"

He made no indication of hearing her. Their short conversation was over.

She sighed and glanced over at her blond friend. He had been strangely quiet through the entire confrontation.

"Naruto?" She hesitated. He seemed wrapped in his own thoughts. The rare expression on his face made her giggle despite herself. 

"So you _can_ think!" She teased him fondly, as she ruffled his spiky hair. He groaned in response.

"Sakura-chan!" He whined. His arms crossed as he pouted at her.

"Come on; let's go before Yamato-taisho gets upset." She offered. 

Sakura turned and began tailing their more aloof teammate, knowing that despite Naruto's complaints he would soon follow.

Her smile faded at the thought of Sai. They had been working with him for well over a month now and still neither knew what to make of him. Did he like Naruto, as she had expected, or was there a different reason for his nearly constant staring? A more sinister reason? 

She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. Still…

'Do you, Sai? Are you…afraid of that?' 


	2. Close Enough to Taste

D I S C L A I M E R  
I, JouVal, DO NOT own Naruto Shippuuden, or any of the characters! I only write for my own enjoyment.

Sai x Naruto Shonen-ai

* * *

C h a p t e r 2 : Close Enough to Taste

Naruto sighed. Sai was right; their captain was already waiting for them. Fortunately he didn't look as cross as he could have.

Yamato smiled at them. "Did the three of you enjoy your rest?" He asked.

"Hai, taisho." Sakura replied with a small smile.

Naruto pouted and fidgeted slightly, and Sai continued ignoring their presence. This caused Yamato to frown.

"Nothing's wrong, is it?" He asked, seeming uneasy over the sudden tension between teammates.

"O-of course not!" Naruto said in a rush, only fueling his suspicions.

"Well, we might as well set up camp here." 

Yamato grabbed the tent supplies and passed a bag to Naruto. 

"Alright, let's get to work. We still need to secure food and firewood before dark." He glanced over at his reluctant team. 

"Sakura, help Naruto put that tent up. Sai will help me with this one. I'll put up my own when you three start gathering the supplies."

All three nodded to show they understood their orders.

He glanced over at the raven haired teen when he reached for a tent stake. 

"Anything happen while I was away?" He asked as he stared the boy down critically. His inquiry was met by a smile. Fake.

"Like Naruto-kun said earlier, nothing happened." Sai calmly began pounding in the stake.

Yamato sighed. "Forgive me if I seem unconvinced…"

Sai said nothing and busied himself with the task at hand.

Naruto was relieved with Yamato-taisho's decision. He didn't think he could work with Sai right now…

Sakura gave him a soft smile. He returned it with one of his own.

"So," she whispered, "do you think I was right?"

"About earlier?" He asked.

The pink haired kunoichi nodded.

He sighed. "I…I don't know. He's a blunt person, besides he's so gay I don't think he would bother to hide it if…um, you know." He mumbled thoughtfully.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I can't help wondering."

Naruto let out a nervous laugh. 

"Maybe it's something we shouldn't worry about right now." He replied, trying to get her to drop the subject. She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

The four met up in the middle of the camp once the tents were prepared and their equipment was safely stored.

"We'll need at least four armloads of dry, dead wood for our fire tonight; and two fish per person for our supper," Yamato declared.

The three younger ninja nodded.

"Dismissed!" They broke apart and headed into the forest.

Once they were out of sight the older ANBU member sighed.

"I hope this does not bode ill…" He muttered.

Finding the firewood was easy. This part of the forest seemed to have been logged heavily in the past. Piles of cut wood and thick branches were laid all over the forest floor.

"Na, na, Sakura-chan; why do you think people left so much wood lying around?" 

The curious orange-clad ninja asked his friend.

"Perhaps they were trying to thin the trees out a bit. Fire spreads easily through the tree-tops, after all." She said with a shrug.

Naruto smiled, seeming satisfied with her answer.

"Heh, more for us then!" He quipped, snagging another branch.

Sai already had an armload and passed them silently on his way back to camp.

Naruto frowned. "What's his rush?" He complained, feeling somehow offended.

Sakura giggled. "Nani? Would you rather he came back to hold your hand?" She teased. He sputtered at her. 

"Don't say things like that, Sakura-chan!"

They quickly finished off their wood gathering and headed back to camp. Naruto was still sulking when they arrived.

Yamato blinked in surprise.

"Naruto…" 

"I was teasing him taisho, gomen." Sakura said apologetically.

He nodded. "Start gathering the food and I'll get some more firewood."

Sai waded into the river and pulled out a handful of kunai. He focused his thoughts before releasing them, pinning four fish to a large maple tree on the opposite bank. He plucked a willow branch from a neighboring tree and strung the fish on it. Sai knelt by the side of the river to clean his knives before returning them to his pack. He then left in the direction of their camp without a single glance at Naruto or Sakura.

The other two followed his example and then headed back.

Sakura bit her lip. 

"I feel bad…" She confessed.

Naruto snorted. "Why? It's not your fault he's a dick!"

She smiled and gently swatted him on the arm.

"You shouldn't say things like that about a teammate, Naruto." She reprimanded him.

"Yeah…but I know you think the same!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, but I do feel guilty this time…"

Naruto pouted once again.

"Well I'm glad he's not talking to us. Every word that comes out of his mouth pisses me off even more."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as soon as the camp came into sight.

Yamato-taisho already had a fire going when they arrived. They cooked the fish and ate a light dinner. Afterward they gathered by the fire to discuss the plans for the next day.

They had reason to believe that Sasuke was closer than ever before. Yamato was confident that they would cross paths soon. Two days prior, Sasuke had been reported injured near Yagami village. They were little more than a day behind him, and even if he had assistance, his injuries would force him to stop eventually.

Yamato laid out a map showing all the nearby towns and water sources. Using this they mapped out the most likely rout the Uchiha would take.

"Naruto, we'll use your kage bunshin technique to search all of this area. If a clone sees him he'll have to fight it off. Once it is destroyed, we'll know the location and can easily navigate to that area." Yamato explained.

His team nodded. The older man smiled.

"I have a feeling we might see him soon."

Naruto's face lit up, lifted by a smile that threatened to tear his face in half if it got any wider. Sakura's eyes sparkled as she gave a genuine heart-felt smile. Sai stared blankly at the map, soaking up the layout of the area.

Yamato stood up, folded the map and placed it in his pocket.

"Get some sleep. We're going to need it for tomorrow."

Sakura put out the fire and they all headed into their designated sleeping areas. Sai and Naruto were to share the tent on the left side, Sakura in the middle, and Yamato on the right. 

Things were a bit awkward in the boy's tent. Both faced away from one another and tried to ignore the heavy silence that hung around them.

Naruto sighed. 

Soon this would all be over…soon they would have Sasuke back to fill his rightful place on team seven. Then Sai, and all the confusion he brought, would be little more than an unpleasant memory.

A pleasant smile graced his lips. 

'Soon, Sasuke, things will be right again.'


	3. More Questions Than Answers

C h a p t e r 3 : More Questions Than Answers

The blond awoke soon after light started to peek over the mountains. He yawned and stretched. A smile crept onto his face. Today was going to be a good day, soon Sasuke would be within reach. He would get the Uchiha back even if he had to tangle with Orochimaru, Itachi, or even death itself. Nothing was going to stand in his way.

Naruto glanced over toward the other boy's sleeping area. He was surprised to find it still occupied. Sai was curled up under the covers with his head buried in his pillow. Naruto scratched his head and quirked an eyebrow.

'That's odd…' He thought, 'the _bastard_ is always up before I am.'

Naruto shrugged and slid out of the tent. Sakura and Yamato were already up and about to start breakfast. More fish.

Sakura smiled at him. "Sleep well?"

"You bet! I'm ready to drag Sasuke's sorry ass home!" He replied with a grin.

"By the way…we need to find Sai soon so that we can leave after we eat." Sakura stated.

Naruto unceremoniously pointed to the tent they shared.

"Teme's still out cold." He declared.

Sakura and Yamato both blinked in surprise.

"He's usually up before Sakura and you." Yamato pointed out. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. I wondered about that when I woke up. It's kinda strange to see that jerk still snoozing."

Sakura handed Naruto a fish. He grinned, wiping traces of drool from the corners of his mouth.

"Sankyuu Sakura-chan!"

The flap of the tent was pulled back to display a rather ruffled-looking Sai. He ran a hand through his messy hair and wobbled stiff-legged over to the group. Sakura handed him a fish, which he silently accepted.

Yamato stared at him for a moment before returning to his own breakfast.

"You alright?" He asked.

"…Hai." Sai said nothing more as he munched on his fish absent-mindedly.

The sudden silence seemed to make even Yamato-taisho uncomfortable. He pulled out the map and quickly refreshed everyone's memory on the plan.

"Is everyone ready to get to work?" He asked. They nodded. "Alright, let's get things cleaned up here, and then we'll head out."

They quickly gathered all their essential supplies and migrated to the mouth of a river valley.

"Alright Naruto, send out as many kage bunshin as you can." Naruto smiled.

"Hai! Leave it to me. Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Hundreds of Naruto clones appeared around them.

Naruto turned to face them all. "Alright everyone, let's find Sasuke!" He declared. The clones scattered throughout the valley, leaving the four of them alone once again.

The blond turned to their team leader. "Do you think this will work taisho?" He asked.

Yamato stared after the quickly advancing clones. "I really hope so…" He answered distantly.

"Come on, let's head in that direction so we can be ready." He ordered.

-- -- -- --

Wind passed through raven hair. The boy frowned, shifting his eyes to the side.

"Keep your guard up." He ordered his three followers.

A blue haired ninja snorted from behind him. "Who would be following us? There aren't any hidden villages around here, and I doubt we've pissed anyone off enough that they'd hire rogue ninja to hunt us down."

"Karin," The dark haired boy called.

A red haired girl adjusted her glasses and held a finger to her forehead in concentration. Her eyes widened.

"S-Sasuke! There are 346 people trailing us…but 343 of them seem to be the same person!" She glanced at him, disbelief showing in her eyes.

The blue haired boy laughed. "Oi, Sasuke, we might want to drop our little retard off at the next insane asylum."

Juugo, the tall, silent member of team Hebi flinched at the mention of an asylum, but he remained calm.

Sasuke grinned, despite himself. "No," he declared, "It must be _him_. So he's still chasing after me…even now."

The other members of his team glanced at each other in confusion.

"Heh, yeah well I still say Karin's retarded. Nobody can be 343 people at once." Suigetsu, the mist nin, mused.

Sasuke laughed.

"Just wait until you meet him, then you'll see."

A face familiar to Hebi's leader jumped out at them.

"Sasuke-teme!" It screamed, lashing out at him.

Sasuke struck it in the ribs, causing it to vanish in a poof of smoke. He smirked.

"One down, 342 to go."

More started to appear around them.

Suigetsu's eyes widened. "What the…"

Sasuke looked around him. He seemed unconcerned as hundreds of clones massed around them.

"Naruto has really outdone himself this time…" He muttered.

-- -- -- --

Naruto opened his eyes, grinning.

"They've found him! He's got three other people with him, as well."

Sakura shook with joy.

"We're so close!" She cried joyously. The pink-haired girl wanted nothing more at that moment than to hug her estranged friend and never let him go.

They picked up their pace as they darted through the forest.

'We're coming, Sasuke!'

-- -- -- --

Sasuke punched another clone and watched as his team dispatched yet another hand full. He sighed.

"Let's relocate to a more open area; we can't give them anywhere to hide."

He led them through a sea of carbon-copy Naruto's.

Karin moved up beside him. "According to the map, there should be a rocky area ahead."

He nodded and picked up the pace, smashing clones as he went.

Soon enough they reached the area Karin had described. It was a flat, craggy area with a shallow river running through it.

"237 left…" The red-head declared.

Uchiha Sasuke grinned.

"As much as I don't want to fight these clones, we can't run forever. I guess you caught me, dobe."

-- -- -- --

"They've stopped ahead. The clones should occupy them long enough for us to catch up to them." Naruto reported.

Yamato gave him a critical once-over.

"That must have drained a lot of chakra. Are you going to be able to fight?"

"Hai, don't worry."

Sai and Sakura remained silent, each for his or her own reasons.

The group spotted a clearing ahead, a clearing that held something precious, Uchiha Sasuke.

They appeared just as the group before them destroyed the last ten of Naruto's clones. The four of them landed about 20 feet away from team Hebi. The real Naruto grinned at him, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Oi, teme! It's time to go home now!" He shouted.

Sasuke smirked. "I was wondering when you'd find me, dobe." He replied as he stared at the group. The raven haired boy blinked in surprise. "Sakura, you came too?"

She smiled, pounding a fist into her other hand.

"Of course Sasuke-kun! Someone has to beat some sense into you." She declared.

Sasuke laughed. He missed them, he really had; but he wasn't ready to go without a fight.

"Where's Kakashi sensei? And moreover, who's that fag?" The Uchiha asked dismissively, pointing to the other raven haired teen.

His three underlings shifted uncomfortably, not entirely sure what to do.

Sai's fist clenched. Sakura, noticing this, attempted to calm him.

"Sai, he didn't…"

He rushed forward suddenly, startling both teams. He bypassed Sasuke with a quick side-step and nailed Suigetsu in the jaw, knocking the mist-nin off his feet. Sai tackled him to the ground and swung his fist at the other boy's face. Blood spattered on the rocks beside his head.

Suigetsu's eyes slowly focused on the raving boy's face. He blinked in surprise before smiling, letting his shark-like teeth show.

"That's not much of a greeting, you know." Suigetsu laughed.

Sai growled.

"Don't fuck with me!" He shouted as he punched him again.

The remaining six ninja stared in astonishment at the scene playing out before them.

Sai quickly whipped out his bush and scroll, painted a snake, and allowed it to bind the boy beneath him. He then pulled a sealing tag out of his pack and stuck it on Suigetsu's forehead.

Karin fumed. "Grrr! He always turns to water when I punch him, how come you can inflict damage?"

Sai ignored her, but loosened his grip, revealing a similar tag in his hand.

Sakura stared at the blue haired boy before the resemblance clicked in her mind. 'It couldn't be… is this Sai's…'

Her gasp alerted Naruto. His eyes snapped to her face.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked. She made no effort to answer.

He turned his eyes back to the scene. A picture of Sai's picture book flashed in his head.

"…Oh." He gulped, staring at the scene.

Sai gave a bitter laugh.

"I guess traitors run in packs now."

He stood up, and looked from Suigetsu to Sasuke, and finally to Naruto.

"Grab prince charming so we can get out of here." He declared, walking back to team seven.

Sakura nodded nervously. Sasuke sighed.

"No need. I'm ready when you are." He said with a shrug.

Karin gasped. "S-Sasuke, you're leaving us?" The girl whimpered pathetically.

"Yeah, like hell you're going anywhere," Suigetsu said defiantly, "I may be tied up at the moment, but I can still bite your ass!"

Juugo frowned, stepping forward. "I wish to go wherever Sasuke-sama is." He replied decisively.

Yamato sighed. They were this close…

"Yamato-taisho?" Sakura asked. The older man nodded, suddenly looking tired.

"Fine. They can accompany Uchiha Sasuke to Konoha, if he wishes it so; however the decision belongs to the Hokage whether they stay."

Karin let out a 'yippee!' in joy. Sasuke massaged his temples. "Whatever." He replied passively.

Sakura removed the bonds from Suigetsu and they made their way back to Konoha. Sasuke moved to run alongside Naruto, and the two began to compare their victories and tease one another. Sakura let out a relieved sigh. Her face warmed with a smile. Everything was back to normal, it seemed.

Well, almost everything. Sai remained quiet. It looked as if the raven haired boy was locked inside his own thoughts. He looked one level above tortured.

Sai brushed past the others, moving to the front of the pack, and settling right behind Yamato. Sakura noticed his eyes were hidden by his bangs as he passed her, giving him an unreadable expression. She sighed.

'What could he be thinking right now? And why was he so upset to see his brother? I'd think he'd be happy to see him alive…'


End file.
